Back to jobs
New

Director of District and School Partnerships - Northern/Central NJ / NYC / Hudson County, NY

Remote

Director of District and School Partnerships  

Location: Northern/Central NJ / NYC / Hudson County, NY 

About the Role 

ESS is seeking a highly motivated, strategic, and consultative business development professional to serve as Director of District Partnerships. This individual will be responsible for developing and expanding partnerships with K-12 school districts throughout an assigned territory. The Director of District Partnerships will engage district leaders, including Superintendents, Special Education Directors, Student Services leaders, and other key stakeholders, to identify challenges related to student mental health, special education, staffing, and student support services and align ESS solutions to meet those needs. 

Success in this role requires a deep understanding of the K-12 education landscape, exceptional relationship-building skills, disciplined pipeline management, and the ability to navigate complex, long-cycle sales processes. The ideal candidate has a demonstrated track record of creating new partnerships, expanding existing accounts, and consistently achieving revenue goals while serving as a trusted advisor to district leaders. 

Core Competencies & Success Profile 

Revenue Accountability & Performance 

  • Consistently achieves or exceeds quarterly and annual revenue targets. 
  • Demonstrates success generating revenue through both new district acquisition and expansion of existing partnerships. 
  • Maintains a healthy pipeline capable of supporting long-term territory growth. 
  • Uses performance metrics and data to inform strategy and prioritize opportunities. 

Territory Knowledge & Strategic Planning 

  • Maintains a strong understanding of district, regional, and state educational trends, funding opportunities, policy developments, and student mental health initiatives. 
  • Develops and executes territory plans that balance new business development, account expansion, and long-term partnership growth. 
  • Identifies high-priority districts and proactively pursues emerging opportunities. 

Relationship Building & Partnership Development 

  • Builds trusted relationships with district leaders, including Superintendents, Assistant Superintendents, Special Education Directors, Student Services leaders, and school administrators. 
  • Effectively develops partnerships within both existing ESS districts and new prospective accounts. 
  • Successfully converts cold and warm leads into long-term district partnerships. 
  • Collaborates with ESS leadership, clinical teams, operations, and marketing resources to maximize district engagement. 

Consultative Selling & Solution Alignment 

  • Leads strategic conversations to uncover district challenges related to staffing shortages, student mental health needs, compliance requirements, and service gaps. 
  • Aligns ESS solutions to district priorities through thoughtful recommendations and customized proposals. 
  • Positions ESS as a strategic partner rather than a transactional vendor. 
  • Demonstrates deep knowledge of ESS services, industry trends, and competitive offerings. 

Stakeholder Influence & Champion Development 

  • Identifies and develops relationships with key decision-makers, influencers, champions, and economic buyers. 
  • Creates and maintains stakeholder maps within target accounts. 
  • Builds internal advocates who support ESS initiatives and partnership growth. 

Pipeline Management & Operational Excellence 

  • Maintains accurate and timely Salesforce documentation, including opportunity stages, stakeholder engagement, account plans, and forecasting. 
  • Demonstrates disciplined prospecting activity and consistent pipeline development. 
  • Utilizes CRM data and reporting to drive accountability and revenue performance. 

Required Qualifications 

  • Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree preferred. 
  • Minimum of 5 years of experience in consultative sales, business development, strategic partnerships, or account management within education, mental health, special education, student services, edtech, SEL, curriculum, or related sectors. 
  • Demonstrated experience working directly with K-12 school districts and district-level decision-makers. 
  • Proven track record of meeting or exceeding quarterly and annual revenue targets. 
  • Experience managing long-cycle sales processes involving multiple stakeholders and decision-makers. 
  • Experience using Salesforce or similar CRM systems for pipeline management, forecasting, and account planning. 
  • Strong verbal, written, presentation, and negotiation skills. 

Preferred Qualifications 

  • Experience in school-based mental health, special education, student support services, or behavioral healthcare. 
  • Knowledge of state and federal education funding streams, including ESSA, IDEA, Medicaid reimbursement, Title funding, and mental health grants. 
  • Experience presenting to Superintendents, Boards of Education, Special Education Directors, and other executive-level education leaders. 
  • Demonstrated success developing new business while expanding existing district partnerships. 
  • Background demonstrating commitment to student success, educational equity, mental health, or public education. 

Indicators of Success 

Successful candidates will demonstrate: 

  • A history of building multi-year district partnerships that result in renewals, expansions, and sustained growth. 
  • Experience navigating complex district decision-making processes. 
  • Evidence of turning prospective opportunities into long-term strategic partnerships. 
  • Success influencing executive-level stakeholders and securing district-wide commitments. 
  • A collaborative approach that contributes positively to team culture and organizational success. 

Create a Job Alert

Interested in building your career at Effective School Solutions? Get future opportunities sent straight to your email.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Effective School Solutions’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.